This paper examines the structure of over 100 alliances by Internet portals from 1995 to 1999. These alliances were an attractive empirical testing ground because of the large number and heterogeneous nature of the contracts, the high standards for disclosure in the industry, and the careful delineation of ownership, control, exclusivity, and other provisions in the contracts. The division of ownership and allocation of control rights displayed patterns consistent with the predictions in the incomplete contracting literature. Similarly, the exclusivity of the agreements appeared to vary, at least weakly, with the value of the product or service being made available to the portal, consistent with the licensing literature. In other cases, particularly in regard to the differing allocation of ownership and control and the varying completeness of the contracts, the empirical patterns indicated a more complex world than the one that theory led us to anticipate.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
8251.
Length: Date of creation: Apr 2001 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8251
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Find related papers by JEL classification: L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Oliver Hart & Bengt Holmstrom, 1986.
"The Theory of Contracts,"
Working papers
418, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
Hall, Christopher D, 1991.
"Renting Ideas,"
Journal of Business,
University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(1), pages 21-48, January.
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